Don't make court pay

A fundamental principle of government in the United States is that the judiciary must be free to issue rulings based on the constitution and the law, not lawmakers' whims. It's one of the main things that sets us apart from, say, Pakistan, where we have just recently seen judges yanked from office because they ruled the way the president didn't like.

It's hard to imagine a more brazen attack on the rule of law -- in this country, that is -- than the state Senate Finance Committee's attempt to make the Supreme Court literally pay for a ruling that went against the Legislature. While it's a relief to see that the full Senate rejected this ploy at its first opportunity, the reason Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman gave for reversing course -- that he had initially misunderstood why the court ruled as it did -- is in some ways worse than the initial action, because it confirmed this as a naked attempt to intimidate the court.

Mr. Leatherman and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell had come up with the budget proviso requiring the Judicial Department to take $550,000 out of its operating budget to help pay attorney fees in a case challenging the Legislature's illegal change to the TERI pension program. ...

So now, after the Legislature has piled mistake upon mistake upon mistake, and the court has properly ruled against it, the Senate's two top leaders dreamed up the idea of making the court pay the penalty for the Legislature's wrongdoing. Backing down is not sufficient. Mr. Leatherman, Mr. McConnell and every single member of the Finance Committee need to make a public apology to the court -- and to the people of South Carolina -- for even entertaining so offensive an idea.

The new DUI law

South Carolina lawmakers have finally passed legislation that actually strengthens state laws against drunken driving. The new law will give police and prosecutors a better tool to get dangerous drivers off the roads.

The law signed by Gov. Mark Sanford is not all that the state needs, but it is likely the most state motorists could hope for from the current General Assembly. ...

For too long, the law has treated drunken driving as a mistake of judgment rather than a dangerous crime. Drunken drivers did not face serious punishment until they killed or seriously injured someone. ...

The bill enacted this year will go a long way to fix that law. But the state should not lose track of the fact that there is still room for improvement.

On the Net: http://www.goupstate.com/

The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News on highway patrol review, April 15:

Does the South Carolina Highway Patrol warrant a federal takeover to stamp out institutional racism? Maybe. Too many S.C. troopers seem unable to do their jobs in impartial fashion, based on the skin color of the folks with whom they come into contact professionally. And too many folks in a position to do something about patrol excesses at the S.C. Department of Public Safety, its parent agency, seem to think that's just fine.

It's not. ...

The State Law Enforcement Division has joined the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division in an investigation of the excessive-force cases. ...

Meanwhile, the S.C. Senate Judiciary Committee, at the behest of Senate President Glenn McConnell, is conducting its own review of the patrol situation. And earlier last month, Gov. Mark Sanford fired and replaced the top leadership of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety - a good idea: Chopping off the top of the leadership pyramid at troubled agencies can bring cultural change.

There is a limit to how good these august political and law-enforcement authorities deserve to feel about themselves for tackling the problems at the Highway Patrol and its parent agency. ...

It shouldn't take the embarrassing findings of a newspaper investigation to create such official zeal for even-handed law enforcement for all South Carolinians, regardless of their skin color. The best outcome for this scandal would be creation of a Highway Patrol oversight regime that guarantees the agency, once fixed, will stay fixed.

On the Net: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com

This story was originally published April 19, 2008 at 12:11 AM.